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'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' play tickets go on sale this autumn

The final Harry Potter novel came out eight years ago but the Boy Who Lived lives on, with news that a new play starring the young wizard will be coming to London's West End next year. Tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Childare due to go on sale this autumn.

JK Rowling herself made the announcement on Twitter, saying "Today is a very special day for two reasons. Firstly, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in the UK 18 years ago! I'm also very excited to confirm today that a new play called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be opening in London next year."

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will tell a new story, though Rowling was light on details, saying that "I don't want to say too much more, because I don't want to spoil what I know will be a real treat for fans." She did confirm, however, that the production won't be a prequel (though "Cursed Child" does rather conjure images of Harry's early years, living in the Dursley's cupboard under the stairs), and will reveal an "untold part of Harry's story".

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Rowling also addresses the inevitable question of why Cursed Child isn't a new Harry Potter novel, something that fans have been hoping against hope for since The Deathly Hallows was published in 2007. The answer is down to format, it seems, with the author saying that she is "confident that when audiences see the play they will agree that it was the only proper medium for the story." That likely won't stop Warner Bros. making plans to translate the stage play into another movie.

The play is a collaboration between Rowling, writer Jack Thorne, director John Tiffany, and producer Sonia Friedman. Thorne is perhaps best known as writer on This is England for Channel 4 but has an extensive career writing for the stage, including adaptations of Let the Right One In, while Tiffany is a Tony-award winning theatre director, winning for his musical Once. Friedman is responsible for some of the biggest hits of the West End in year, includingBook of Mormon and Shakespeare in Love.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will open at the Palace Theatre next summer, exact date to be confirmed. It will be followed by Potterverse spinoff movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in November 2016.